The German saxophonist Susanne Alt has lived in Amsterdam since 1996. She got the music from her parents' nest, because her father plays the piano and her mother guitar. After winning several jazz awards, it was time for her debut Nocturne in 2004. Besides jazz she also likes to play funk. For On Track (2009) she invited trombonist Fred Wesley of the JB's, the horn section of James Brown, who in
… turn asked her back to join his new band Fred Wesley And The New JB's. So you could expect someone with such a resume to know what funk is. So someone like that should know that funk is raw, uncompromising and nasty. Unfortunately, Alt doesn't realize this, as How To Kiss is full of a polished, smooth and predictable subtraction of something that should pass for funk, but goes wrong on all fronts. This is in large part due to the tame rhythm section of bassist Sven Schuster and drummer Philippe Lemm, which manages to really never put down a cool funk groove. If Alt were to look for an accompaniment that does understand this genre, it will work next time, because it is not due to her playing. (AD)more
